Hot on my Heels
by Acharya
Summary: Tial is a lot of things: Loud, smart mouthed, and full of attitude. But now, shipless and reunited with the siblings she pretends don't exist, she's forced to reevaluate her life.  Smug/Corso Riggs.  3: Corso and Tial have an awkward encounter and Darmas
1. But I Move too Fast

Hot on my Heels

Author: Rochelle B

Fandom: SWtOR

Characters: Various from the smuggler, trooper, and Jedi Consular story quests.

Pairings: Fem!Smuggler/Corso Riggs, Fem!Trooper/Elara Dorne. Male!Consular/The Jedi Code.

Genre: Action/Adventure, Romance, Drama, and Sci-Fi.

Notes: This story is mostly Smuggler centric, but does feature the Trooper and Consular as main characters, as well as the various companions, and probably a Jedi Knight at some point.

Warnings: Language, Racism, mentions of past slavery/abuse, lesbianism, and a handful of deeply dysfunctional people.

Summery: Tial Chraya is a lot of things: Loud, crackshot, smart mouthed, and full of attitude. But now, shipless and reunited with the siblings she likes to pretend don't exist, she's forced to reevaluate her life.

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Chapter One

But I Move Too Fast

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Leta Chraya knew she was there a day before actually speaking to her. She glimpsed her for a moment and nearly tripped on her feet trying to crane her neck around to get a better look. It had only been a brief look but she knew it was her and it had taken a serious effort to not go after her. Instead she'd gone about her mission, hoping that they wouldn't cross paths and she could put the siting out of her mind.

It went well, until she was leaving the planet.

She heard her before she saw her, and wasn't surprised to see the older woman, pistol drawn and crouched behind a cargo box when she rounded the corner.

"Sorry boys, I don't fly cargo. You'll have to tell Rogun to come visit me."

Leta sighed loudly, drawing the attention of the three men in the room, one human and two aliens, before drawing her side arm. The woman in cover smiled widely then made a motion towards the lone human male. Leta nodded her understanding.

"Sir?" Aric said, clearly hesitant.

"You're under arrest. Hands up." Leta said, tone firm.

The aliens exchanged glances then, as Leta had expected, reached for their own weapons. The human male reacted fast, cracking the taller alien once across the face with his rifle and then again in the back of the neck. Once the alien was down the man fired.

The second alien pivoted on his feet, rolling into cover. The human male scowled and followed, though at a much more subdued pace. The small alien fired, but his bolts were absorbed by the human's shield generator. Leta started to follow but the older woman held up a hand to stop her.

"Don't bother. He needs to let off a little steam anyway."

"I wouldn't need to let off steam if you hadn't shot Syreena!"

"She would have done the same." The woman said, hand going to her hip. "You can't let people off with murder just because they have tits!"

"What? No!" The human reached over and dragged the alien up by his shirt, batting the blaster away with obvious frustration. "You should do it because you don't want to stoop to their level."

She sighed impatiently then waved a hand dismissively. There was an awkward moment where Leta watched the human, who seemed to be about her age and a native of the planet if the thick drawl was any indication, shake the small alien senseless while ranting about the degradation of morals in society.

"I was raised to not shoot women! You open doors and pull out chairs for them, not threaten to haul them off to be killed by a guy named 'The Butcher'." With that he dropped the alien and shook his head. "It's just uncivilized. What is the world coming to, really, when two men show up to take on one little woman?"

The alien whimpered, whatever courage he had vanished. Leta didn't know if it was the barrel pressed against his skull or the incensed human yelling at him, but either way she could see where he was coming from.

"Now. Tell the captain here how to get into contact with Rogun." Some more whimpering and then an insistence that he was supposed to take Tial (alive or dead) and receive instruction later. "I see. Captain?"

"Let him go." The woman muttered, frowning. "We wouldn't want to upset these fine soldiers here."

"Your sarcasm is noted Tial." Leta said, rolling her eyes. Aric cleared his throat quietly and she glanced at him. Introductions were probably in order, since her new companion was undoubtedly even more confused than she was.

"Sergeant Aric Jorgan this is my sister, Tial Chraya."

Tial tore herself from the human, who seemed a good deal calmer than he had before, and turned sparking violet eyes on Aric. She looked him over in a disgustingly obvious manner then smiled in the slow sultry way that had always had men falling at her feet. The human made a noise of alarm. Aric swallowed and color rose to his face.

"Tial." Leta's tone was sharp, but not loud, and as a side effect made the Cathar turn his full attention back to her, a touch of embarrassment showing on his face. She rubbed at the bridge of her nose then smiled at the human."Lieutenant Leta Chraya."

Tial laughed then winked at Aric who continued to stare at Leta with the single minded determination she'd come to expect from him in their short time together.

"Corso Riggs. It's nice to meet you ma'am." Corso held out a hand and she took it, not at all surprised by the firm grip or calloused hands. He smiled brilliantly and Leta was certain that if he'd had a hat he would have tipped it at her. She couldn't help but returning his smile with a smaller, but genuine, one of her own.

Then back to Tial, once again all business. There was no other way of dealing with her sister, sadly. "Heading back to your ship?"

All traces of humor left the older woman's face. "No. Some scum sucking soon to be dead man stole it. I'm on my way to the Capital to find him and pry the starter from his cold dead hands."

"Have you reported it stolen?" Leta asked with more than a small amount of irony. If looks could kill Tial would have, at the very least, done some very serious bodily harm to her. After all, odds were Tial had stolen it herself at some point.

Leta was painfully aware that her sister operated on the other side of the law and in this one area she allowed her military sensibilities to take a back seat. She had, once, tried to arrest the other woman and get her on the 'straight and narrow' but in the end she'd simply been more trouble than she was worth. Leta had pulled the strings, and risked her career, to have all matters concerning her sister placed in her hands.

Tial kept her dealings from hurting the Republic and often feed her the sort of information someone doing legitimate work would never have access to, and so far it worked out. Leta had, on more than one occasion, managed to achieve things with the information that her sister provided her and so her career had been moving along swiftly, culminating here, as the new leader of Havoc Squad.

Not that being the new leader of Havoc Squad had been what she'd expected when she'd landed on this rock, but she wasn't going to lie and say she wasn't pleased.

"You can tell me all about it on the shuttle." She wound an arm around Tial's shoulders. Her older sister hesitated for a moment then nodded, allowing herself to guided towards the shuttle.

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Corso leaned against the bar, opting to not sit and instead look out on the people milling around him. The station was busy, being a hub for all Republic transit, and people of all races and walks of life were crammed in to the brim. He wasn't the backwoods farm boy most people would assume and had seen his share of death and fighting, but things like this were still humbling.

Tial had spent most of the shuttle ride with her sister, swapping stories of what they had been up since they'd last seen each other. Leta had kept a lot of things back, just smiling serenely and claiming it was 'classified' while Tial had gleefully recounted tales of mayhem and blaster fire.

Corso had used the time to look over the women, unsure if he would had assumed they were sisters without being told. They shared some similarities; dark green skin and had the same tattoos under their eyes and down the middle of their forehead; a series of triangles arranged together to form a bar. Full lips, pale purple eyes and round faces.

Tial was, and Corso was embarrassed to be so acutely aware of it, soft and curvy in a way that a man just couldn't ignore, even if he was trying to think of her in a purely professional manner. When she'd walked off of her ship and into Skavak's hanger it happen taken effort to not stare. Her hair, a brownish-red, was about shoulder length and was swept in a way to hide the tattoos on her forehead.

Leta was younger, or so Tial had indicated during the trip, but her black hair, pulled back into a tight tail, was going gray already. She had a more muscular and less curvy build, wore no makeup, and a air about her that juts screamed 'military'. Even if Corso had met her out of uniform he would have known she was an officer.

Upon reaching Carrick Lt. Chraya had excused herself, saying something about training, and Tial had gone to see a man she knew about supplies. She'd left Corso at the bar and had only just returned, a second blaster holstered on her hip and a shotgun slung over her back. She'd handed him pack, which a quick glance told him contained a blaster and gear.

"Can you believe the nerve of that guy? Tried to tell me I had to choose to use two blasters or a shotgun." She past him, body brushing against his carelessly. "Claimed that I didn't look like I had the 'stamina' to keep up with all this equipment. Like he knows me. I'll show him stamina."

She paused, drink mere inches from her lips and turned around, just missing the disbelieving look Corso had been giving her back. "You want a drink? ...Are you old enough to drink?"

"I'm old enough to do lots of things." The words were out before Corso had a chance to stop them and he regretted them immediately. "That's not what I mean. I mean it is what I mean but not in a...weird way."

The rest of the 'Corso tries to dig himself out a hole' spiel was cut off by the beeping of Tial's holo. She laid one last amused look on him then turned it on, revealing the terse face of her sister.

"I need you to come up to departures. Now."

Tial nodded minutely then shoved the holo back into her own pack. The drink was handed to Corso who, lacking any further ideas, downed it. Tial hailed the bartender again and paid then gestured for Corso to follow her.

"So, Captain-"

"You can call me Tial, kid."

He decided to not even acknowledge she had spoken. He supposed he liked her well enough, and certainly didn't mind looking at her for whatever that was worth, but he was far from comfortable with her. She wasn't like the girls on Ord Mantell. Not even close.

"How does a straight shooter like your sister end up with a sister like you?"

Tial let out a bark of laughter then ran her fingers through her hair, laughter still playing in her eyes. "It's a long story. I may be inclined to tell it to you one day, if you play your cards right."

Corso was curious, but not enough to push the issue. The rest of the short trip to departures was in silence, though he did notice a few male heads turning to watch his new 'boss' go by and more than one disbelieving look laid on him. He could tell that working with her was going to be an interesting endeavor, if nothing else.

They stepped off the elevator and he could see Leta standing next to a robe clad Mirialan. Leta spotted them and rose a hand to gesture them over. Tial let out what sounded like a long suffering sigh then weaved her way through the stream of people intending to board the ship leaving from the hanger they were in.

"Corso Riggs, this is Jedi Tymar Chraya." Leta inclined her head at the robbed figure, who offered a hand to Corso. He was a bit shorter and thinner than Corso was, but his grip was strong. He shared the facial features of the women, though his face was more narrow and sharp, and Tial's reddish hair, which was also worn long and swept across the forehead. "Our brother. He's on his way to the Capital from the Tython."

"It's a damn reunion." Tial muttered, ignoring the scathing look Leta sent her way. Tymar smiled placidly. "All done at the Jedi Academy Ty? It's been almost 5 years since you've so much as sent a letter, I was afraid you'd gone off to commune with the darkside or something."

This earned her a frown. "What a terrible suggestion Tial. I have finished my trials and now I'm on my way to the capital. My master has fallen ill and I need to look into helping her get well." His frown deepened. "Leta tells me your ship was stolen and now you intend to kill a man."

"Did she tell you that?" The anger literally dripped from Tial's words and Corso was willing to swear that the temperature around them dropped a few degrees. Corso, suddenly worried that she was going to do something to this man, (Her brother and apparent Jedi.) put a hand on her shoulder. She started, as if surprised by the contact then let out a slow breath.

Tymar turned his gaze, pale purple eyes so like Tial and Leta's but shining with a strange kind of calming light, to Corso. "You must be Tial's latest unfortunate conquest."

"Not...to my knowledge." He hesitated for a moment then added. "Not that I would turn down an offer, it just hasn't been made."

Tymar seemed scandalized by the very notion. "I must insist you do just that. I sense much anger in you and the potential for great darkness. You should let go of your hatred towards those that have wronged you before you find yourself on a path you can't turn away from, much as my twin has. You know she spent time at the military and Jedi academy before her lusts called her away?"

Tial's hand was on her blaster and pulling it out. Corso grabbed her wrist and Leta, who'd been practically choking on her laughter the whole time, moved to intercede.

"Master Jedi." The man who'd been leading people into the airlock approached them, taking a moment to eye Tial's weapon distastefully. "The private suites you requested for your guests are available and your Trandoshan and Cathar friends have checked the rooms to their satisfaction. You may all board now."

Tymar nodded and the man turned to leave them, clearly not impressed with the 'Master Jedi's' choice of companions.

"Tia-" Leta started, hand raised as if that would stop any further issues.

"Don't you 'Tia' me." Tial groused before pulling free of Corso, shooting a poisonous glare up at him, and stomping away to board.

"I suppose you have another brother who's a Bounty Hunter and will be arriving soon?"

Leta chuckled and clapped Corso on the shoulder; surprising him with the strength in her small body. "Of course not. I guess it is strange that we're all here at the same time though."

"It's fate." Tymar said, eyes serious. "If we have been brought together it is because the Force has willed it."

With that said the Jedi walked away, robes billowing after him dramatically. "...I'm honestly not sure if he means that or if he's just screwing with us."

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I always find the manner that the four story lines basically get smashed together after the starter planets to be amusing, hence the 'Hey you guys, look who's here?' aspect of the story. It did occur to me that the humor might be lost, hence this explanation. Expect lots of "How strange that there is a superweapon on this planet where a Jedi is also going insane and a strange delivery needs to made?".

Tial is a scoundrel, with a little gunslinger flair. Leta is a Vanguard and Tymar is a Sage, with a touch of shadow when it suits him.


	2. Across the Great Divide

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>Chapter Two<br>Across the Great Divide  
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"Warning Warning! All hands brace for impact!"

Tial didn't get a chance to do the seething she'd wanted to do, as the moment she entered the room Tymar had gotten set aside for her the whole ship shook and she found herself falling face first onto the floor. She laid there for a moment, contemplating the state of her life, then pushed herself up. Backtracking through the halls, pushing through confused and panicking civilians, found her in the ships lounge just as her sister and brother finished talking to a Twi'lek. Corso was with them but broke away as soon as she entered the room.

"What's going on?"

"You're bleeding." Corso reached for her, large hands finding their way to either side of her face. He had her look up at him, presumably so he could get a better angle. She would have pulled away, this was the third time he'd put his hands on her without her permission, but she found that Corso's hand on her skin wasn't totally unpleasant. "I'm not sure. Tymar and Leta are going up to the bridge to find out."

Tial closed her eyes, wondering what unfortunate twist of luck had landed her with such do-gooders as siblings. Truly Fate was cruel.

When she opened her eyes she found that Corso's eyebrows were furrowed in concern; her stomach twisted and she turned her gaze to the wall behind his head. He confused her and she didn't like it. He accepted violence almost casually but has lost his shit when she'd killed the woman who would have, without a doubt, done the same to them if the situation was reversed. He touched her casually and his hands were warm and calloused and something inside of her fluttered when he got close.

She could identify lust easily enough, she was more familiar with what lust could drive people to do than she wanted to be, and so she could state confidently that while she was attracted to Corso there was more than that going on. It was strange, and she didn't like strange.

"It's not bad." He said finally and let her go.

She touched the area that only now felt sore, frowning when her hands did indeed come away stained with her own blood. She reached into her pack and pulled out the modified diagnostic scanner she'd gotten from Lefty. Tial aimed it at herself then flipped the switch, smiling when a green beam ran it's way over her, leaving a light mist of kolto in the air.

She'd been half-afraid it wouldn't work (After all liberated military tech wasn't known for reliability) but it seemed she'd been worried for nothing. Corso made an impressed noise.

"Nice toy."

"Tial!" Leta was in full-on solider mode, as Tial liked to call it. "We may need your guns. Come make yourself useful."

She must have looked like she was about to refuse before Tymar leveled a look at her and she could feel the flutter of disappointment in the back of her mind, light as a bug's wings but very much there. She hated that almost as much as she hated the strange way Corso was making her feel. She knew it was a force thing, as she was considered to have a 'moderate level of Force sensitivity'. She would never be able to float objects or trick people into obeying her, which would have been a useful trick in her line of work, but it was enough to form a weird mental bond with her older brother.

Or it had been.

It was strange to feel what could only be her brother stirring in the back of her mind. When he'd pushed her away all those years ago the link between them had atrophied and died, driving Tial to a month long bender in an attempt to chase away the pain the severing caused. In time she'd learned to live with it, learned to enjoy not having the constant long-suffering presence with her at all times.

But here they were once again and she could almost imagine a bridge between them being rebuilt. It ached a little, right behind her eyes.

"Fine."

Corso looked pleased with her response and, muttering under her breathe, she followed the odd looking procession though the blasted open door. There were small fires along the hallways and a few people sprawled around, dazed and bleeding.

"An Imperial Warship is following us." Tymar stated as they rounded the first corner, just as another explosion rocked the ship.

"Pissing off Sith already?" Tial couldn't keep the accusing tone to herself. "It's a little early in your career to be getting people killed isn't it?"

The question went unanswered, as a collection of large battle droids came into sight, loping towards them with obvious intent. The Trandoshan raced forward, moving with unnatural speed, as Tymar gestured with his hand. One of the droids went up, twisting uselessly in the air.

Tial breathed out, steeling herself, then sprang to action, blaster in hand as she rolled into cover. Everything slowed down and blurred around her while at the same time the people around her were sharpened. She saw Corso standing in front of her, as if to shield her, and Leta charging in after the Trandoshan, saying things that were muffled to Tial's ears.

She drew in a breath then aimed, letting it out slowly, and fired. She liked a good fight, and took them however she could get them. She lived for the surge of adrenaline and the way all of the stress seemed to drain from her body. She lived for the fight, the rush, and the feeling she got when she looked out into space and realized how small she really was.

Tymar had the Jedi Code and Leta had her Rules and Regulations, but Tial had her blaster and a ship to call her own, and it was enough.

The floating droid came down with a thud, the sound of twisting metal making her cringe. She peered over the box she was crouched over but it seemed well and truly destroyed. She looked at her brother, who seemed pale and had sweat dotting his brow. As if sensing her gaze, and who was to say he hadn't, he shrugged.

"It's harder than it looks."

She didn't care for the 'Force' or those who used it, to her they seemed to think themselves above those who had to get by in life without 'magical powers', but she supposed if she'd even seen any looking as...mortal as Tymar did now she'd be less scornful.

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Leta supported her sister's weight, frowning at the Sith standing before them nervously. This kind of crap was way above her pay grade and, at least as it stood. She wasn't adverse to fighting alongside a Jedi in battle against the Empire, but this wasn't exactly what was going on here. Things had started mildly enough, a few battle droids, and progressed into a serious incident and violation of the Treaty. With proper forces and weapons she would be game for this kind of thing, but taking by surprise like this she was out of her depth.

She wasn't known for her improvisation skills, sadly. She'd even had a commanding officer tell her she lacked 'imagination' and that it would probably begin to hold her back eventually. It hadn't happened yet, but now she was beginning to become concerned.

Still they'd managed to put down Ironfist (what a terrible terrible name), a few insane droids, spent a little time climbing through garbage, and now it seemed like they might even get back off this Imperial ship alive except...Sith.

He's tossed the Ambassador around for a moment then had focused on Tymar, apparently excited at the prospect of dealing with a Jedi. He seemed unconcerned with the rest of them, which was fine by Leta. She as bone tired and she was almost positive she'd twisted her ankle while pipe jumping. The side of Tial's face was an angry red and starting to blister, due to a close call with some missiles, but everyone else seemed none the worse for wear.

"Finally, a challenge." The Sith smiled, lips unnaturally dark against his deathly pale skin. Then, almost faster than Leta could track, his saber flashed out, arcing towards Tymar. Qyzen moved, bodily shielding the Jedi, and his shield generator fired up to absorb the blow, then flickered, signaling it was out of power. The saber returned to it's wielder, who's smile had grown big and toothy.

"This doesn't have to end in violence." Tymar said, voice soft.

The Sith trust a hand out and Leta found herself being ripped away from her sister and thrown back, hitting a wall hard enough to make her vision go hazy. Fingers wrapped themselves around her neck, cutting off her air, and she reached out to pry them away but found nothing there. Black spots began to dot her vision.

Utterly above her pay grade.

"No!" There was a loud rattling then a scrapping, like metal over metal, and then she was sliding down the wall, pressure on her neck released. She could see flashes of purple through her dim vision and hear the sounds of blasters firing, but it was hard to summon the desire to move.

Still, she was against the idea of dying while sitting on her ass. Leta drew in a painful breath, wondering how much damage had been done to her throat, and pushed herself to her knees then groaned, clutching her head as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She considered falling over but dismissed the idea.

She didn't fail. She never had before and she wasn't going to start now.

A hand touched her shoulder and she peered up through watery eyes to see Jorgan looking down at her. He helped her up, a gleam of something that may have been respect in his eyes. She would have spoken, thanked him, but Leta was pretty sure that speaking would result in vomiting. She shook her head again, pain radiating from her neck then charged in.

The Sith was ignoring her, attention on Corso and Qyzen, who were steadfastly protecting her siblings. Tial was unmoving on the ground and Tymar was sending waves of energy out at impressive speeds. She brought her rifle butt down on the back of the Sith's head, insides leaping at the very satisfying grunt he let out.

No matter what else happened, she had to admit that...felt extremely good.

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Tymar slumped against the wall and put a hand to his head, unable to stop the pain that rushed over him. Leta, who'd exited the shuttle last, saw and started to come towards him but he waved her off, unsure if he was opposed to her comfort because Jedi didn't need comfort or because he was sickened by her actions. He need a moment to breath, to focus, and let go of these emotions.

"What's wrong?" She hovered just out of reach, an awkwardly concerned expression on her face.

Qyzen grunted. "All death hurts healing Jedi."

Leta looked at the Trandoshan then back at Tymar. "I'm sorry Ty. I didn't know."

"I'm fine!" He snapped, taking a small amount of delight when she jerked back in surprise. He needed to calm himself. "You just sent a group of innocent men to their deaths. You left the Ambassador behind to die. Do you not care at all?"

"Of course I care, but sometimes sacrifice is needed." She looked offended, but Tymar couldn't see how she could be.

She had, after all, without so much as consulting with them, opened the airlock and sent the engineering crew to their deaths. Tymar had been reaching out, trying to use the force to calm the men. Having their lives suddenly placed in the hands of three people they didn't know had caused panic among the crew and justifiably so it seemed. Having their lives abruptly ended had caused him something like physical pain.

The ambassador was even worse; she was still alive but her fear was gnawing at his stomach and threatening to eat him alive. It lessened as they got further away, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to force himself to shut her out completely. He needed to, he knew he was only torturing himself by continuing to reach out to her, but he hated to leave her totally 'alone'.

"We should get back to the deck." Leta turned away from him, mask of the cold solider sliding over his little sister's face. "We'll need to inform the captain of what has happened and the unfortunate loss of the ambassador."

Tymar shook his head, eyes darting over to Tial. She was still unconscious and in the arms of the human traveling with her. "I think I'll sit this out."

"Do what you want. I don't need civilians for this anyway." And with that Leta was walking out of the hanger, the Cathar as her heels.

"Civilians." Corso muttered. "I didn't feel like a civilian when that Sith was tossing his saber around."

Tymar closed his eyes, silently agreeing with the man but at the same time not wanting to feel the bitterness Leta's tone invoked in him. Already he was regretting leaving Tython, and coming across Tial and Leta, Tial especially. He'd cut off contact with his when he'd decided to go into the healing arts. She was a constant uncontrollable presence in his mind, always there because of the connection they shared. She'd made made his attempts to achieve peace fail and so she'd tainted all of the healing he'd tried to do.

His teacher at the time had sensed his issue and told him that the best option was to cut her out of his life and focus his energies on severing the line between them. He had done just that and it had been a long and painful process, made worse because he could feel his sister's confusion and suffering, but when it had been done he'd excelled in his training.

But now, so close to her, he could feel the connection repairing itself and surging to life. He had felt tickles of her pain and fear throughout their 'mission' and it had played hell on his emotions. He'd felt worry for her and worse than that, he'd given into rage. When he'd seen Leta go flying into the wall and Tial collapse without their younger sisters support he'd lost his careful grip. He'd ripped an entire computer terminal from it's place and slammed it into the Sith and had been disappointed when the man had survived.

He wasn't ready. He'd been worried he wasn't ready and now he knew it. In the temple he was protected from the negative emotions and actions of others and more importantly he was protected from his family. He could see his failure laid out before him and knew he had left far too soon. Events had pushed him out and demanded his reemergence into the world faster than would normally happen.

He wasn't ready. Not even close.

The image of his master, shrunken and pale on the floor, sent a shiver up his spine. Unready, but also unable to return until he's saved Master Par.

"Tia." He cracked his eyes open. Corso looked up, shifting the woman's weight in his arms. He was holding her bride style and looking increasingly awkward as he did. "Bring her here. I can heal the damage."

Corso looked skeptical. "No offense, but you look like you're about to pass out yourself."

Tymar sighed then put a hand to his head and forced his thoughts to slow. He focused on his own heart beat, closing his eyes as he did, matching his breathing to it. He could feel the force around him and reached out for it, blanketing himself in it's power and willing it to seep into his body.

"I can do it."

He felt Corso moving closer but his attention was on his . He could see her in his minds eyes, saw her body as energy instead of flesh, and could see where her wounds affected the energies flow. Yes, he could do this. He opened his eyes, watching as Corso carefully lowered Tial to the ground then sat himself to keep her head from resting on the ground. Tymar noted the care the human put into his actions and almost smiled.

"You could drive a Jedi do drink." He said softly, knowing how delighted she'd be by that if she was awake. He but his hands over her face, focusing on the burns there. He felt a warmth inside of him and reached for it with his mind then guided it outwards with his hands. A golden glow surrounded his sister and slowly, so slowly he began to worry that he wouldn't be able to do it, the burns and blistered skin began to melt away. Her wrist was also hurt, broken maybe, but that too began to heal.

He let his hands drop to his sides when he was sure he'd managed to heal everything he could. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose, sure he could have slept for a week and still been tired after all of this. It seemed like ever since landing on Tython he'd been forced to push himself to the limits of what he could do and it was taking it's toll on him.

Corso was eying him with equal amounts awe and wariness, undoubtedly as uneasy around force users as Tial claimed to be. "Are you okay? You look tired."

He said nothing and instead leaned back against the wall. He still had a lot to learn, a lot work to do to become a true healer, or even a competent Jedi. Everything took so much effort, but this time a year ago healing more than a scrapped knee had seemed impossible. He would get better; he had to. Master Par's life may have very well been resting in his hands, and he wouldn't allow himself to fail her.

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I am aware that it is a lot of characters right off the bat but after this chapter the focus does narrow to Tial and Corso. The purpose of the first two chapters is to let you see Tymar and Leta's point of view so that when they appear later/I get bored and write little one shots for them the readers can go "Oh right, I remember them!' and not "Who the hell are these people?"


	3. Hold You Down

Hot on my Heels

Author: Rochelle B

Fandom: SWtOR

Characters: Various from the smuggler, trooper, and Jedi Consular story quests.

Pairings: Fem!Smuggler/Corso Riggs, Fem!Trooper/Elara Dorne. Male!Consular/The Jedi Code

Notes: Just my take on 3 characters as they move through their storylines.

Warnings: Language, Racism, mentions of past slavery/abuse, lesbianism, and a handful of deeply dysfunctional people.

Summery: Tial Chraya is a lot of things: Loud, a crackshot, smart mouthed, and full of attitude. But now, shipless and reunited with the siblings she likes to pretend don't exist, she's forced to reevaluate her life.

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Chapter Three

Hold You Down

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"I can't imagine a handsome man like you living as a hermit."

"Perish the thought!" Darmas put a hand on Tial's knee, smiling up at her charmingly. "I simply have to convince the right woman to come with me. If you have any recommendations let me know."

Corso was beginning to think bringing Tial to Darmas had been a bad idea on his part. The woman had taken to the gambler immediately, responding to his transparent attempts at flirting with gusto, heedless of the fact that Darmas was old enough to be her father. Corso was man enough to admit that he was...slightly jealous.

It was her fault though, with her amazing body, quick wit, and confusing signals.

It had really started going downhill the night before, when they'd landed on Coruscant. Leta had left them at the spaceport, Tymar had headed for the Senate Tower, and they had been left to their own devices, but not before Tymar had set them up with a room. He'd explained, as they'd walked from the spaceport, that it was an apartment he was supposed to be using during his stay (one of many provided by the Senate for visiting Jedi) but that he doubted he'd be using it because he had to tend to his master.

Tial had rolled her eyes and seemed to be just barely holding back some kind of remark, but in the end had just pressed a kiss to her brother's cheek and then lead Corso to a taxi. She seemed fine, though she claimed the skin on her face itched. She'd spent some time looking in a mirror when she'd first woken up then proclaimed that her brother had done the world a service by saving her 'beautiful face.' Corso had just snorted, which had earned him a impish grin.

The building was in what seemed like a nicer part of town and towered over most of the other buildings around it, gleaming class and metal exterior gleaming in the darkness. They'd earned a few looks as they'd walked around but no one stopped them and soon enough they'd found themselves crossing the threshold into the apartment.

It was a nice room, or at least nicer than your usual cantina room, if the front room was anything to go by. (Corso had perhaps seen the inside of the rooms at a few less than totally savory establishments at one point or another. It wasn't the sort of thing he could, in good conscious, confirm or deny.) and the woman had gone about making herself comfortable as soon as the door slide shut behind them.

Her holster came off and was draped over a chair, followed by the scattergun. Her pack came next, falling onto the table with a dull thud. She raked her fingers through her hair while toeing off her boots, which ended up being kicked towards a corner, then made a beeline for the sliding glass doors, which opened onto a balcony. There was an impressive view of the city to be seen, and for a moment Corso stood next to her and looked out, trying to take it all in.

Eventually a sense of vertigo set in and Corso slumped into the free chair, resting his feet on the table (something his mother would have killed him for.). He shrugged out of the harness he kept his rifle in, laying it next to his feet then scrubbing a hand over his face. It had been an incredibly long day, one of the longest in his life, and yet he didn't feel the urge to sleep just yet.

"Why would have thought having a Jedi for a brother would have such unique perks?" Tial was back in the room, a wry smile on her lips. "Sometimes I think I made the wrong career choice."

Corso looked at the woman, trying to picture her in the plain robes of a Jedi, and found the image just...didn't work. "You don't strike me as the Jedi type."

"Well," She looked at him over her shoulder eyes bright with laughter. "You may have a point. A life of rules and chastity probably wouldn't suit me."

Corso decided, not of the first time, that silence was the best response. Tial didn't seem to mind, instead wandering through the door in the back of the room. A few minutes passed and then Corso heard the sound of water running. A moment later Tial's head poked out of the room, a big grin on her face.

"This place has a sonic bath! All this time I've been thinking Jedi deny themselves, but those saber jockeys stay in fancy apartments with sonic bathes."

She moved so she was fully in the doorway and whatever Corso had been about to say, probably something about the term 'saber jockeys' but he found his thoughts coming to a grinding halt, crashing into each other and dying in a fiery blaze.

Tial had stripped down while in the other room and was standing in nothing but her underwear and bra, delicate looking purple fabric that contrasted with the dark green of her skin. Not that Corso was thinking about things like contrast or how much Tial must have spent on underwear made of Dramassian shimmersilk, too busy letting his eyes roam over the woman. He lingered on the swell of her breasts, the toned stomach and the way the curve of her hips lead to long toned legs. It was only through an impressive display of willpower that he managed to force his gaze back up to her face and found that it didn't help things any.

Corso had seen dancers with less sex appeal while naked than she radiated with just a look, and this look was one that promised a memorable night if he was willing. Her eyes had gone dark, her pupils were wide and her lips were curved up into a slight smile.

"Corso." Her lost it's soft twang and gained a husky edge.

"Captain." He was proud of himself for keeping his voice totally even. She walked over to him, hips swaying; he swallowed. He...was in trouble.

"I believe that bath is big enough for two." He was pretty sure that even if it hadn't been she would have made it work out. She was stopped in front of him, close enough to touch if he wanted to.

He wanted to.

Which is why he nearly wasn't able to stop himself from doing so. He swallowed again, steeling himself and silencing the part of his brain that thought what he was about to do was his dumbest move ever.

"Captain, I like you, but I think this would be a bad idea." Her eyebrows shot up, meeting her hairline, and disbelief was written all over his face. He could relate. "You might be stuck with me for a while and I think you should get to know me before we do something we regret later."

He waited, not sure what kind of reaction to expect. She blinked then, suddenly, blushed darkly. She'd nodded her understanding than all but fled back to the other room, leaving Corso alone. He'd slumped onto the table, covering his head with his arms, and groaning. He knew that what he'd said was the right thing to say; he did like her and she was stunning and being with her would be far from a hardship but he knew if they got together now only to find they couldn't stand each other, it would just make things intolerable.

Who knew how long it would be before they found Skavak or what would happen after they did? Staying focused, and completely clothed, was the only way to ensure that things would go smoothly and without some kind of regrettable awkwardness hanging between them.

Beyond that Corso had already had his fair share of encounters that weren't as well thought out as he wished they were. He wasn't the 'love them and leave them' type by any stretch, preferring to leave that kind of behavior to people like Skavak and Darmas. However he wasn't a saint, (nor was he making any claims to be), and being fourteen and away from home, with few rules to follow, had allowed him to run a little wild. There had been a few women who, in hindsight, he wished he'd treated better.

He regretted some of the things he'd said and done, and so had resolved to be more like the man his parents had raised him to be. So far he remained confident in that resolution and even now, with a willing Tial in the other room, he knew it was the right thing.

Besides, he didn't want her to be something he regretted in the morning.

He'd spent a long, but not totally uncomfortable night, alone on the couch. He'd woken up, called Darmas at Tial's behest, and then they'd set out for the man's private booth at the Dealer's Den Cantina. Tial hadn't mentioned the night before and Corso would have been content with that, if not for the way she was allowing the slime Darmas to chat her up.

"Oh my. Beauty, intelligence, and fine moral values. What's not to like." Darmas flashed another smile at Tial who smirked. Corso just groaned, far from amused with either of them. He knew it was because he was jealous, which was hypocritical at best.

He had turned her down (though he'd done it without the best of intentions) and he was pretty sure that precluded him from being mad if she turned her attention elsewhere.

Darmas looked at him, lips twitching into a mocking smirk that only grew as Corso glared back. Tial didn't seem to notice, too busy considering the holopad Darmas had handed to her a few moments ago.

"This is interesting information. This Kixi, she's another one of Skavak's girlfriends?" Tial tilted her head to the side slightly. "And, on that note, how does he manage to pull so many girls in? Am I missing something?"

"Well I can't answer that," Darmas was smiling again, charm turned all the way up. "But I can tell you that Skavak doesn't...'deal' with alien women, even ones as human as Kixi."

Tial huffed. "I suppose that makes me lucky."

"Or makes him very unlucky." Corso had to admit, if only in his head, that Darmas was smooth and that line proved it. Too smooth...slimy, really. Tial seemed to be eating it up if her blinding smile was anything to go by. Corso leaned back in his seat, sulking and feeling stupid for it.

They left the cantina after Darmas finished filling them in and were looking at a map of the sector, discussing the best way to get to Kixi, the slicer who was apparently helping Skavak out, when they walked past two men engaged in an intense discussion. One was a Human and the other a very distressed looking Nautolan; Corso probably would have noticed them if Tial had suddenly stopped and whipped her head around to stare at them.

"Did you say your mate was being forced to dance at a club?" Tial's voice took on a harsh quality Corso hadn't heard before.

The Nautolan seemed surprised that someone had been listening to him but got over that quickly. "Yes, yes! The guild kidnapped her and now they're forcing her to dance at their club. I've reported it but of course the authorities are much too busy to pay attention to aliens."

Tial frowned slightly. "It can be hard to be an alien these days."

Corso suddenly felt extremely awkward. He was aware that there were a lot of negative feelings about non-humans even in the Republic and he knew that the more human a person looked the better they were treated. Someone like Tial might go through life with few issues but Twi'leks and Nautolans could be far less lucky, which was why you saw so many of them as dancers these days.

"Her name is Ria. If you can find her and help her I would be in debt to you. She's everything to me."

"I'll do it." The Nautolan, who said his name was Nik, gave them directions to the club, which just happened to be on top of the building they were looking for. They left the alien with a promise to return quickly then headed for the bridge Nik had told them would lead into Guild territory. What they found was a scene straight out of Ord Mantell with Coruscant police forces on one side and what Corso assumed were the gangsters he'd heard so much about on the otherside.

"They're having a shoot out in the street!" He couldn't help but be a little excited. "And here I thought Coruscant wouldn't be any fun."

Tial blinked up at him, eyes dancing with amusement. "You're a strange man Riggs."

He smiled down at her, the annoyance from dealing with Darmas draining away. "You seem to like it Captain."

Her expression froze and for a moment he was sure he'd said the wrong thing. He was figuring out a way to smooth it over, cursing his ability to always shove his foot firmly into his mouth, when she offered him a small, almost shy smile.

"S'pose I do."

His heart skipped a beat and he knew, without a doubt, that he was in trouble.

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Now that my Warrior/Sorc story is finished (the first tale anyway) I will be focusing on getting Tia and Corso back on Tial's ship and on the road to hunting Skavak!


	4. I Won't Cage It

Hot on my Heels

Author: Rochelle B

Fandom: SWtOR

Characters: Various from the smuggler, trooper, and Jedi Consular story quests.

Pairings: Fem!Smuggler/Corso Riggs, Fem!Trooper/Elara Dorne. Male!Consular/The Jedi Code

Notes: Just my take on 3 characters as they move through their storylines.

Warnings: Language, Racism, mentions of past slavery/abuse, lesbianism, and a handful of deeply dysfunctional people.

Summery: Tial Chraya is a lot of things: Loud, a crackshot, smart mouthed, and full of attitude. But now, shipless and reunited with the siblings she likes to pretend don't exist, she's forced to reevaluate her life.

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Chapter Four

I Won't Cage It

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Tial glared at the control panel then looked down at blaster on her hip. Back at the panel. Blaster. Panel. Blaster-

"Don't." She narrowed her eyes at Corso who didn't even both looking at her. "If you shoot it it'll just alert who ever is inside that we're coming. No point in stealth generators if you're going to announce you're at their front door."

Screw him for having a good point. "Fine. What do you think we should do?"

Corso shrugged. "Find someone with an access card and liberate it from him."

Tial wanted to argue since she knew shooting the control panel would be way more satisfying, but she couldn't deny his idea was solid. Besides, while they looked around for someone who had a 'I'm important enough to have a passkey' look to them they could stop in at the club and see about Ria. The club was on the level above them, which was lucky indeed. She could hear the music coming from inside as well as the patrons who seemed to have little concern about the fact they were at some sleazy club in the middle of the day.

They walked up the ramp leading to the next area, doing their best to look like they belonged there and weren't on a rescue mission. They passed through the small front hallway, careful to not make eye contract with the Trandoshan bouncers standing on either side of the plush blue carpet, into the front room. The walls were lined with couches and, other than the pole in the middle of the room and women in dancer's costumes, there wasn't anything overly sleazy about it.

She knew better than to fall for that though, the further back you went the less 'classy' these places tended to get.

There was a blue skinned Twi'lek swinging around the pole and, seeing that she was the only girl in the front room not chatting up a costumer Tial made a beeline for her.

"Hey honey." Something grabbed her wrist and she pulled back hard while turning to face the source of the voice. Her hand clenched into a fist unconsciously, glaring down at the human who'd touched her. He was an ugly overweight thing, in a suit that screamed both 'expensive' and 'tacky'. If he noticed that he'd pissed her off (And Corso as well, if the way her companion was glaring at the man was any indication) he didn't show it.

"How much for a dance?"

Tial blinked slowly then looked down at herself, momentarily confused. She was wearing a long sleeved white shirt under a black vest with black pants and desh-toed boots, her dark red hair was pulled back into a braid that hit her between the shoulder blades and she'd forgone makeup for this little trip. She didn't look anything like a dancer, in her opinion. She looked over her shoulder at Corso who just shrugged and then back at the man, who was leering at her.

"More than you can afford."

The man scoffed. "I'm a Guild Underboss sweetie, I can afford anything I want, including you." His eyes narrowed dangerously as he said the last part, a clear threat, but Tial was focused on his first comment. She put a finger to her lip, pretending to consider his words while, in fact, celebrating her luck. She smiled slowly, allowing herself to be pulled closer and perched on the man's knee.

He reeked of cologne, so much so that her eyes watered. Still she kept her smile in place, willing herself to not heave. "Perhaps we can work something out after all. Not here, of course. You seem like you could afford a private dance."

He smiled, clearly pleased with his victory and the shift in her attitude. She could all but read his mind; he figured that flashing his rank and the promise of credits had changed her tune, as it probably did with most women he met. And, Tial was willing to bet credits on this part, those who didn't fall in line where forced to do so.

"Of course beautiful. I've never had one of your kind before." He touched rough fingertips to the tattoos beneath her left eye. "Is it true that you all get tattooed all over?"

"You'll just have to wait to find out." She felt the bile rising in the back of her throat but wasn't sure what was more disgusting; his smell or the way he was reducing her people's rituals to something to get hm off. "I'm sure you've got a real nice place close by. Maybe...I could send my associate ahead with you, to make sure everything is ready for me, while I change."

The man looked over at Corso, who was keeping his face totally blank. The thug turned his attention back to her and Corso's expression became just slightly murderous. "This your muscle? Doesn't look like much. What's a pretty girl like you need muscle for anyway?"

Tial giggled, mind racing for a moment. "Oh you know. A girl can never be too careful. People are always looking to take advantaged of my...kindness."

He nodded, accepting that. He pushed her back to her feet, hands lingering on her backside far longer that needed, then gestured to Corso. "I've got apartments two blocks over. Your man can check them out then holo for you."

"Sounds great." Tial was all smiles, but more because she was thinking about the long bath she'd be taking to wash away the fat oaf's touch. She leaned towards Corso, talking softly around her pasted on smile. "I need a shower."

Corso's lips twitched into what may have been a smile. "I'll break his fingers for you."

He really said the sweetest things. In spite of what an utter embarrassing disaster the previous evening had been she found she couldn't really be mad at the human. He'd been doing what he thought was right (and may have even been right) and Tial had been letting her hormones get the better of her.

Between all the fighting they'd done on Ord, the fighting they'd done getting to Coruscant, and the crap with Skavak she was amped up and thoroughly on edge. That combined with the fact that the life of a smuggler trying to make a name for themselves didn't leave much time for relationships had left her wanting and she'd clearly overstepped her bounds. She'd thought Corso was willing but he'd politely turned her down.

Tial could see that it was better that way. Corso Riggs was a good guy, a rare breed really, and she'd learned the hard way that dealing with good guys just got complicated and messy.

Now, Darmas Pollaran, on the other hand, was right up her alley. He was a little older than she usually went for but then Corso was a little younger and she'd practically thrown herself at him. Guys like Darmas were easy and utterly transparent. They knew what they wanted and weren't afraid to make it known. Darmas spoke fast and said just the right thing, so smooth that Tial could almost believe he was sincere. He was the kind of man who professed love to a dozen girls a month and broke hearts just as often.

He wasn't the sort of man a girl could take home to her mother, since he'd probably try to sleep with her mother, but that was only a problem if you were stupid enough to fall for his charm. Tial wasn't, not at this stage in her life anyway, but she appreciated the sort of man that he was. Easy, fun, and low maintenance. That was what she needed in her life, not cute farm boys who said the wrong thing half the time, stood in front of blaster fire to protect her, and...

Tial sighed, banishing those thoughts. She had a job to do and she needed to get a move on before Corso came back from his little adventure. She walked to the dancer, catching the woman's eyes and nodding slightly.

The dancer smiled at her and hopped down from her place on the pole nimbly. "Hello, how can I help you today? Putting in an application maybe? We haven't had a Mirialan girl in a long time."

Tial shook her head. She didn't see much pole dancing in her future. "No, I'm a friend of Ria.I was hoping to talk to her."

"Oh." The Twi'lek's smile faded slightly. "Well she just got in, not even suited up yet. You want to wait for her to change?"

"I'd rather not, if you don't mind."

"Not a problem." The dancer's smile was back and, without another word, she headed down the hallway that lead deeper into the club.

It didn't take long for Ria to appear. She spotted Tial right away, probably having been informed by the Twi'lek that a Mirialan woman was looking from her, and her eyes turned suspicious. Still she offered her hand and Tial shook it, noting the other woman's strong grip.

"I'm Ria. I was told you were looking for me?" She didn't say the words but the look on her face made it clear she wanted an explanation for why Tial was there, claiming to be a friend.

"Tial." She looked around, making sure no one was in earshot, then dropped her voice to an urgent whisper. "I'm going to get you out of here."

Ria's face went from confused to totally blank. "Why would I want to leave? I love it here."

Tial frowned slightly. "You don't have to lie. I understand how these places can work; they offer to take you on, or force you to dance, then promise to let you go once you've made some arbitrary amount of credit but you never make it and they just hold on to you until they've got no use for you anymore."

Ria stared at her unblinkingly (Nautolans didn't blink, which made talking to them kind of unnerving) and the tendrils on her head moved, shifting like thin snakes. Finally she frowned and reached out to touch Tial's shoulder, pity obvious in her large eyes. Tial felt her face heat up in embarrassment as she realized she may have said a bit much. She had a soft spot for shit like this and had, more than once in her life, gone out of her way to try and help decent people caught in bad situations. She was probably projecting a little bit.

"This isn't some Hutt's club Tial. I'm here because I want to be and that's all there is to it." The Nautolan paused for a moment then sighed. "Nik sent you didn't he? I knew I shouldn't have told him the Guild was forcing me to dance but it was all I could think of. I didn't know how to tell him I was leaving him."

Tial pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a heavy breathe. "You weren't kidnapped."

"No. This is the happiest I've ever been. I feel...amazing. Powerful, even, when I'm on stage." Indeed Ria's eyes brightened in obvious pleasure at the very thought. Tial supposed she could understand that; even at the worst of times knowing you had people hanging onto your every movement was the sort of thing that could go to a girl's head.

"You know what I mean." Ria smiled as if they were sharing some kind of secret. Tial nodded, a strange tendril of shame worming its way into her stomach. She knew. "So you won't try to make me leave."

"As long as you're sure this is what you want." Who was she to force someone to return to an unhappy marriage? Tial hated places like this, or at least the sleazy ones that held their dancers captive and slapped slave collars on those who forced to comply, but she wasn't one to let her hatred totally blind her. "You should tell Nik the truth Ria. At least to stop him from hiring someone else to come after you."

Though, really, she'd volunteered her services after overhearing the conversation. That wasn't really the point...was it? No. The guy still deserved to know the truth, even if it hurt.

"I'll...I'll talk to him." Ria agreed haltingly. Tial could see the lie all over her face. She didn't call her out on it, instead just giving the other woman her holo frequency and making her swear to call if she needed anything at all, ever. Ria agreed then hugged her, seemingly uncaring that Tail went stiff as a board instantly, then ran back to get ready for her 'show'.

Tial rubbed at the bridge of her nose again, a nervous gesture she'd picked up from Tymar when they were young. She was an idiot. Worse than an idiot, she was a sucker! She had too much of a soft spot for hard luck cases and, at this point, had given her holo to no less than twenty dancers, a handful of prostitutes, and a few of those separatist kids.

At the rate she was going she might as well have just started a hotline or a charity.

"That was nice of you Captain."

Tial jumped, yelping, at the familiar voice in her ear. She turned, hand instinctively going for her blaster, and swore at Corso. "A little warning next time Riggs! I swear..."

He just laughed while making a gesture with his hand, indicating that they should head for the entrance. She grumbled under her breath but followed nonetheless. Her little outburst had caused a few heads to swivel in their direction and it wouldn't be a good idea to start drawing attention now.

It wasn't until they were outside that Corso's words registered in her head. She frowned suspiciously; how much had he heard anyway? He didn't seem inclined to say anymore so, rather than charge headfirst into yet another uncomfortable moment, Tial resolved to put it out of her mind and forget all about it. They walked back to the lower level, once again doing their best to look inconspicuous.

They'd crept past the worst of the fighting, thanks in no small part to the stealth generators. She couldn't imagine why she hadn't been using one of them before; it was great. According to Darmas, the member of the Guild gang often shot those they couldn't readily identify and while she didn't have a problem fighting most of the time, today she was focused on the task at hand. With the promise of getting closer to Skavak and her ship being dangled in front of her she couldn't allow gang disputes to slow her down.

They stood in front of the control panel once again, this time however Corso produced a data card from one of his pockets. He considered it for a moment then smiled. "It sure was nice of that Guild guy to let us have this, don'tcha think?"

Tial snorted. "I'm sure he just couldn't resist your charm."

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	5. By Hands that Touch Me

Hot on my Heels

Author: Rochelle B

Fandom: SWtOR

Characters: Various from the smuggler, trooper, and Jedi Consular story quests.

Pairings: Fem!Smuggler/Corso Riggs, Fem!Trooper/Elara Dorne. Male!Consular/The Jedi Code

Notes: Last chapter was more filler to transition scenes. Also I was about to start a period of 12 hour shifts so I wanted to get something out before delving into that, since I assumed I wouldn't have much time to write. This chapter is much the same; they really should have been one chapter but...they aren't. I'm back to work tomorrow, but normal shifts so I should go back to pumping things out quickly.

Warnings: Language, Racism, mentions of past slavery/abuse, lesbianism, and a handful of deeply dysfunctional people.

Summery: Tial Chraya is a lot of things: Loud, a crackshot, smart mouthed, and full of attitude. But now, shipless and reunited with the siblings she likes to pretend don't exist, she's forced to reevaluate her life.

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Chapter Five

By Hands that Touch Me

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They made short work of the droids defending the facility; Tial went in and out of stealth, blasting the droids in the back of their processing units with her shot gun while Corso drew their fire. He avoided most of their fire completely, ducking in and out of cover and crouching behind a well placed reception desk, and the shots he did take were absorbed by the shield generator.

One last loud crack rang out, followed by the sound of metal crashing to the ground, and Corso straightened up. Tial was standing in the middle of the room, considering the assembled pile of droids thoughtfully. Corso leapt over the desk and walked over to stand next to the smaller woman, who now had her lips pursed as she looked around the room.

"Captain?"

"Do you think it strange, Riggs, that there are no people protecting this place?"

He thought it was strange that she was calling him Riggs again since he'd thought they'd left that back on Ord Mantell and at least progressed to 'Kid' and 'Corso'. He didn't say that to her and instead just shrugged. He supposed it was better that it hadn't been people; Corso wasn't adverse to killing people who threatened him or those who cared about but that didn't mean he didn't prefer to blast droids instead.

She gave the room one last sweep then turned on her heel to head down the hallway. Corso stayed close behind, rifle drawn in case any more droids lurked around, but their path turned out to be uncontested. Unless you counted walking into a room and finding two large turrets aimed at the one lone living occupant. The woman had her back turned to them and was staring up at a series of screens, one of which showed the room they'd just been in.

"Was watching you on the feed. You sure know how to make an entrance." The woman turned, nodding at them. She had the same dark green skin as Tial, marking her as Mirialan, which seemed to put the captain at ease right away. Tial holstered her blaster and glanced at Corso from the corner of her eye, silently asking what he thought.

"I think this is our slicer, but then why does this room looks like a prison?" He indicated the turrets, which Tial's eyes took in as a frown curved her lips.

"Because it _is_ a prison, thanks for noticing." Kixi's voice was more than a little scathing but in light of the situation Corso let it slide. Having guns pointed at you all day could put a person on edge. "Whatever your issue is with the guild, we're on the same side. I'm just a slave here."

Tial's lips were pressed so tightly together they were going white from the force. "You Kixi?"

"Y-yeah. Short for Kixiaralu. You...you came here for me." Kixi's eyes went from guarded to hopeful and Corso would be lying if he said it didn't tug at his heart a little bit. "The Guild kidnapped me two years ago and has been forcing me to work for them ever since. I'd do anything to get out here. What do you need?"

"You put me on Skavak's trail and I'll get you out of here." Tial said, voice stilted. Corso was glad she was agreeing to free the girl, but wasn't sure what to think of her tone or the dark look on her face.

"Finding his trail is easy, just gotta look for the slime." Kixi turned back to her console, fingers flying. "I knew the pig-lizard had messed with the wrong person; that's why he was in such a hurry to have me scrub his record. He paid the guild a ton for it, had me slice into the Republic's main database and get rid of all the arrest warrants."

Corso whistled, impressed. There were lots of two-bit slicers out there, (even Corso had been known to delve into places he probably had no business being) but few could boast that they were good enough to get into the Republic's database and tamper with a person's records.

Tial's hard expression cracked as she smirked. "That musta taken forever."

Kixi tossed an impish smile over her shoulder. "Some of my best work, actually. But...that's all I can say about Skavak. No idea where he is."

The redhead nodded slowly then, her eyes flashed darkly. "Can you at least make it hard for him? Make his record dirtier than a sewer on Hutta?"

"So you want me to put it back how I found it? Easy. He won't be able to walk ten meters without being flagged." Kixi paused, voice dropping to pained whisper. "If I do this will you let me go?"

Tial was silent a moment, gaze dropping to the floor. Corso shifted closer to her, reaching and touching her arm. The memory of Syreena's dead body surged back to him and, as much as he didn't want to feel it, worry came with it. He knew Tial would shoot an unarmed person (not that he was much better, really) but he really hoped she was going to let Kixi go and that this wasn't going to be an unfortunate repeat. He wanted to believe she would do the right thing, just as she'd done for the dancer at the club, but he would be lying if he said he was totally sure.

"You wreck the son of a Hutt for me and you're free to go wherever you want. Hell, I'll carry you on my back if you want."

"That is...not needed." Kixi laughed lightly. She went back to work, undoing the work she'd done to scrub Skavak's record and promising to leave a little something extra behind in honor of their kindness. Tial just smiled thinly and, once Kixi was done, she whipped out her shotgun.

Kixi reared back, slamming into her work station. Her eyes were blown wide open, blue overtaking the pupils. "You said you would let me go!"

"That is what I said." Tial leveled her shotgun and fired, shattering the right turret. The left one whirred to life, beeping as it's gun began to rise; Tial shot that one as well, blowing a hole through it's middle. It sank back, wires sparking inside it's shell. Kixi swallowed then, cautiously, descended from her station to walk over to them.

"I-I. Uh. Thanks."

Tial holstered the shotgun then dug around in her bag, emerging with a credit stick. She thrust it out at Kixi, who took it with shaking hands. "You can come with us for now, but I'm not sure where we'll be headed next. I'll give you my frequency so you holo if you need anything or you think someone is following you or...whatever. If you want off planet, once I get my ship I'll take you somewhere."

The other Mirialan stared at Tial, eyes becoming watery. Corso coughed and looked away; he'd never done well with crying women. It made him lose him composure.

"You don't have to do this." Kixi's voice was a thick whisper. "No one has ever done anything like this for me before."

Tial sighed and tugged on the end of her dark red ponytail, looking a little embarrassed. "Yeah well. I'm a sucker for hard luck stories I guess. Don't let it get around."

0000000000

They'd deposited Kixi with Darmas then struck out for Black Sun territory to gather up the holo-recordings they were hoping would give them a clue of where Skavak had gone off to. Kixi was in her ear, helping them navigate their way to what they were looking for via the communication device Darmas had been kind enough to loan her. They kept their distance from the restless looking groups of gang members, though Tial could tell Corso was itching for a fight.

Still, she was pretty sure they'd get all the action they wanted when they finally pinned Skavak down; there was just no way that scumbag would be nice enough to give up and let Tial shoot him between the eyes without a fight.

She was glad for that, of course. She wanted to pleasure of hunting him down, beating him down, and then ending his miserable existence.

Once they'd had what they needed they'd gone to the Black Sun's main communications hub and been treated to an image of Skavak hiring some muscle to take care of a lawman on his tail. It had been Corso, stupid always concerned with others Corso, who'd suggested they go and try to help the lawman. A firefight had followed, much to Corso's delight and had resulted with a very dead Cathar at their feet.

The lawman, A Sullustan named Miel, had agreed to share any information he found out about Skavak with them, seemingly very impressed with their help. He'd even called her 'honest' a word that was rarely associated with her. He was funny, but Tial couldn't help but like him a little; anyone who wanted to take Skavak down was on her 'good' list.

Sadly he hadn't had any information to give her about the useless son-of-a-ronto which had left them at something of a dead end, otherwise known as Darmas' private room at the Dealer's Den. Darmas had his feelers out, trying to pick up on Skavak's next move. She could feel the noose tightening and it was putting her on edge. She didn't want to wait, but she knew that was all she could do. For now, at least.

Tial yawned then pushed herself up on her elbows, considering the scene around her carefully. Corso was sitting on the floor, back against the couch she was sitting on, fast asleep. He had his rifle across his lap, hand resting on it protectively. Darmas was sitting at the gaming table, Kixi across from him, flirting shamelessly with the giggling slicer.

A pang of jealousy, petty petty jealousy, struck at her and she turned away from them, frowning. Darmas had made a show of propositioning her and she'd be lying if she said she hadn't been tempted by the older man. It had been...a very long time since she'd had sex, entirely too long really, if the way she'd tossed herself at Corso the night before was anything to go by. She'd had a few men grace her bed over the years (though not nearly as many as her siblings seemed to believe) and hadn't gone such a long time in a dry spell since...well. Since her first time the night before leaving home to go to the military academy.

Acceptance had been right on the tip of her tongue but she'd caught sight of Corso's face, a mixture of anger, worry, and distress, and the refusal had fallen from her lips before she could really think it over. Darmas had looked surprised at being turned down but, every bit the player Tial knew he was, had bounced back and turned his attention to Kixi without missing a bit. Corso had looked shocked as well but his expression had melted into embarrassed appreciation when Tial let her voice fall to a whisper in order to tell him that he was her number one.

She didn't know what was going on with him, or her, or them but she knew she didn't want to make things between them any more awkward than they already were. Sleeping with Darmas would only muddy the waters more, and with Skavak so close she couldn't afford that.

She flopped over again, not surprised to find that Darmas and Kixi were gone. He really was charming and, even if he hadn't been Kixi was probably in the middle of an epically long dry period herself. Which, really, meant that Tial had saved her life and gotten her a little action.

She wasn't half bad at this whole hero thing, really.

Corso stirred, groaning softly, before going still again. She looked down then sucked in a breath, stricken by how sweet he looked. He was a sweet guy in general, of course, and with those big velvety brown eyes and his scarred face he was far from hard to look at, but while asleep there was something very...calm and comforting about him.

She didn't realize she'd reached out until her hand was on his face, lightly tracing the scars there. She found herself wondering, not for the first time, how he'd gotten them. She didn't know much about him, except that she found him utterly infuriating. Then again he didn't know much about her either, did he? He knew she had a brother and sister, but that was due to circumstances Tial couldn't avoid. She never would have volunteered that information left to her own devices. He had maybe overheard about her 'sordid' past as a dancer, but again that wasn't information she had really given him on purpose.

All she knew about him was that his family had been killed by Separatists and he'd made it his life's work to wipe them out, something she'd helped with back on Ord Mantell. She knew he liked to name his weapons and that she trusted him to watch her six, even though she'd barely known him a week. The last part was all that matter, really, but-

She started when Corso's hand flashed out and grabbed her own, forcing her to stop moving. His eyes snapped open, cloudy and confused for a moment then recognition and curiousness surged to the forefront. He was very readable, those eyes giving away everything without remorse.

"Captain." Corso offered a small smile as he let her wrist go. She pulled it back, cheeks blazing hot with the force of her blush. He reduced her to a stuttering embarrassed teenager and she didn't understand why. "What's going on?"

His voice was a hushed whisper and, in spite of herself, she found herself leaning in to hear him better, allowing the moment to become far more intimate that she would have liked. Still, so close she could feel how warm Corso was, she couldn't help but let it go to her head.

"Tell me something about you farm boy."

He stared at her a moment longer, brown eyes soft with some emotion she couldn't name, then he turned away, staring at something she couldn't see. "When I was fourteen I joined the peace brigade. It gave me a look at what a world looks like when the Empire is done with it; a better look than any kid should have, really."

"What's that, a group of do-gooders?" She rested her chin in her palm, smiling to take any potential sting from her words. He laughed lightly.

"I suppose. The brigades a relief organization, go into worlds abandoned by the Treaty and help people displaced by the Empire. I was a dumb kid, looking for adventure, but after two months..." He frowned, expression haunted. It wasn't a good look for him and she ached to reach out and wipe it away.

She didn't.

"Well lets just say there are no kids in warzones." His gaze snapped back to her and he suddenly looked apologetic. "Geeze, that was depressing. I'm sorry, that probably wasn't what you had in mind."

Tial just shrugged; she'd heard it now and there was no way to take it back so there wasn't much sense in regretting it. She tried to imagine a younger Corso, wide-eyed and optimistic (so not too much different form the man she knew now) looking for adventure and finding nothing but desperate people who'd lost their homes and livelihoods.

Tial hadn't spent much times in warzones herself but in the few years since Leta had left the academy she'd visited a few war touched worlds. Her sister knew how to paint a very grim picture when she wanted to and when it came to the Empire Leta was all about grim.

"What about you? Were you really a dancer, or is that just something you said to Ria?"

It was a chance to say she'd been lying, to accept an out and let that little tidbit of knowledge simply go away and be forgotten. She wasn't...ashamed of it, exactly, but she didn't know that she wanted something like that at the forefront of Corso's mind when he thought of her.

Well...that wasn't totally true.

"It was after the Academy. I needed credits, fast, and always intended to get in and out. Ended up dancing for over two years. Even ended up living above the place, in a cramped apartment with some other girls."

It was a strange thing to look back on, a mixture of fond memories and terrible ones. It was, probably, the most interesting part of her life so far, since before that she'd drifted around, doing odd jobs where she could for whoever she could. Hell, after that she'd just drifted some more, trying to figure out what she needed to do to get her life straight.

It was a little...humbling to go from top of your class at the Republic Military Academy to swinging around a pole for credits from disgusting men. A touch humiliating as well. She supposed these were women, like Ria, who ended up in a good place and had only great things to say about being a dancer, but she wasn't one of those women.

She'd landed on a small planet with the crew she was traveling with and when they'd taken off they'd left her behind, which was the risk you took when traveling with unscrupulous sorts. She'd had no credits to her name and was too proud to contact her siblings for help, so she'd rolled into the local club looking for a bartender job. The owner had convinced her that she was too pretty for slinging drinks and the next thing she knew she was on the stage.

She'd brought in a little money only to be hit with mysterious stage fees that had left her with just enough to afford a room for the night. The next night she'd brought in a little more, enough to eat and have a room. Soon two years had slipped past and she'd still had no credits to show for it, as well as being firmly under the owners thumb and having had a really nice guy slip through her fingers. He'd wanted to help her get away and she'd, once again, been too proud to accept help.

Tial was a true believer in hurting yourself in order to not appear weak. Maybe one day she'd get a clue.

Corso was looking at her, gaze intent. She could tell he wanted to say something, but was considering his words very carefully. She arched an eyebrow, daring him to speak and afraid of what he may say. She'd hate to have to smack him with her blaster. People had a tendency to judge and Corso certainly had a little bit of a moral high horse thing going on.

Corso chuckled, a deep noise that caused a stir inside of her.

"Captain, Corso!" Darmas entered the room, looking as immaculate as when he'd left. Kixi, however, was nowhere in sight. "I've got some news about our friend Skavak."

Tial pushed herself up, watching Corso stretch out long limbs from the corner of her eye. Whatever Corso was going to say would have to wait; nothing was more important than getting her ship back at the moment.


End file.
